We have another confirmed case of Whooping Cough within our Paraparaumu College community. The time from contact with the bacteria to getting sick is usually 2 weeks (range from 1 to 3 weeks). The incubation period is between 6 and 20 days, average is 14 days.

Whooping cough may start with a runny nose which then proceeds to coughing. If you have the disease you are infectious from the time of the runny nose until 3 weeks after the bad cough starts. If treated with either a 14 day course of Erythromycin or 5 day course of Azithromycin, you are no longer infectious after you have completed 5 days of the antibiotic treatment.